The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is considering introducing restrictions on household mixing at Christmas with curfews on pubs and restaurants also. The news comes as the Prime Minister was given three coronavirus plans to tackle the spread of the new Omnicron variant, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The three plans include reintroducing limited indoor contact without legal enforcement; restrictions that will limit indoor social mixing and an 8pm curfew on bars and restaurants; or even a full lockdown.
Any new legal restrictions would require MPs to be recalled to Parliament to vote them through which could happen as soon as Wednesday.
The restrictions could be introduced as the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has warned the government that COVID deaths could rise to 6,000 per day. The chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has advised ministers that new restrictions should be brought in as soon as possible to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.
But, an unnamed cabinet minister told the Telegraph that the Prime Minister could face a backlash from his party if he introduces a ban on household mixing and non-essential shop closures. They told the newspaper: “The cabinet aren’t stomaching any more restrictions right now.
“Apart from the fanatics, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, the rest of them are pretty sensible, including the PM.”
On the 17th December, coronavirus cases hit a new high with 93,045 cases. It is understood that Boris Johnson is in favour of the ‘light touch’ option, which is “It is guidance but not regulations on household mixing,” said a government source.
However, “The third tier is the heaviest covering everything up to and including lockdown. On the basis of the data, there are some who believe we could quite easily justify locking down before Christmas,” the source added.
In 2020, the Prime Minister insisted that festive celebrations would go ahead as normal despite warnings, before making a massive U-turn at the last minute.
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